Antifungal drugs, as the term suggests, are drugs used to treat fungal infections. We are familiar with many antifungal drugs nowadays because they are widely advertised and sold over the counter, which also means that fungal infections are common in the general population, and generally well distributed in all age groups.
Basically, fungi are microcellular organisms that live like a parasite, thus needing other life forms for food and survival. Fungi have a high affinity to moist and dark environment which means that they are prone to live in moist parts of our body like our feet, mouth, armpits, groin and even in our genitals. However, they also tend to live in parts like our scalp and hairline, neck and trunk.
Common Fungal Infections
Athlete’s Foot is a very common fungal infection which basically involves our feet especially the areas in between our toes. Also, oral thrush which presents with a painful sore inside our mouth may also be caused by fungi. In terms of genital fungal infection, Candidiasis is one of the most common especially among women. Candidiasis involves the development of a sore in the surface of the genital as well as in the inner part of the woman’s external reproductive organ and appears as a cheese-like projection in the genital walls.
Common Antifungal Drugs
Basically, there are two general types of anti-fungal drugs- the topical and systemic antifungals. Topical Antifungals are applied directly on the infected area to treat the fungal infection. The common antifungals that are available in the market nowadays are Miconazole, Nystatin, Clotrimazole and the likes. These topical antifungal drugs are available without any prescription that’s why they are fairly popular. They are also proven to be effective in external fungal infections because they act directly upon the affected area.
The other type of antifungal drug is systemic antifungals. These drugs are available via a medical prescription and common systemic antifungals are Nizoral (Ketoconazole), Diflucan (Fluconazole) and Miconazole. Some of them are given by mouth, while some of them are given through intravenous infusion. Take note that these drugs have to be taken as they are prescribed and as some fungal infections take time to be cured, taking these systemic antifungals might last for a period of months to even years.
Thus, it is important not to miss any dose of prescribed medicine because stopping during an antifungal therapy results to reappearance of the signs and symptoms and might also lessen the fungi’s sensitivity to drugs, making them harder to cure on the second attempt.
Contraindications
Pregnant women should consult their doctors first before taking antifungal medications Apart from that, antifungals are considered to be toxic to the liver that’s why a liver enzyme test is important before placing one into an antifungal therapy. As such, patients who are currently diagnosed or those possible for a liver disease must be cautioned about taking thus drug.
Side Effects
Common side effects of the drug are nausea and vomiting, headache, drowsiness as well as constipation or diarrhea. Similarly, they may also cause decreased sexual libido as well as breast enlargement in men, but is uncommon.
And most importantly, never fail to inform your physician if you are currently taking any drug or are planning to take some types of drugs as it may react with your antifungal therapy. It is always better to be safe rather than do something dangerous and end up with some serious health threats at the end of the day.
